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Blog Archive (October 2016)

Free seed libraries, swaps, and exchanges increase access to local food and can play a large role in both expanding and preserving biodiversity. Yet for almost 80 years, these non-commercial operations have been running afoul of the law.That’s because the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Federal Seed Act mandates that any activity involving non-commercial distribution... more

The dicamba herbicide drift disaster in Missouri and Arkansas has taken a tragic turn – see item 1 below.The farmer dispute that led to the murder was likely to be caused by dicamba spray drift from fields growing Monsanto’s new Xtend soybeans, which are genetically engineered to tolerate dicamba herbicide. Dicamba kills or harms other neighbouring crops that aren’t genetically... more

When it comes to truthful and accurate conversations about food sustainability, U.S. farmers groups feel Dannon has fallen short. Now, those groups have pledged to continue to stand up for U.S. farmers’ interests if food companies move away from reasonable and accurate conversations.Together with its farmer partners and others, Dannon, the leading maker of yogurt in the U.S., is beginning... more

Despite massive pressure from U.S. multinational Monsanto and the Ukrainian Grain Association, Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian Policy and Land Relations supported a new moratorium Monday on genetically modified (GM) crops until 2023.Earlier in 2016, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc “Solidarity” MP, Mikola Lyushnyak entered a Bill to the... more

Liquid meal maker Soylent is stopping sales of its flagship powder, warning that a handful of customers reported stomach sickness after consuming it.Soylent had already halted shipments of its months-old nutrition bar because of customer complaints of diarrhea, vomiting and upset stomachs. In an announcement late Thursday, the Los Angeles company said there appears to be a common ingredient that... more

IARC accuses Reuters of severely distorting its motivesThe WHO’s cancer agency IARC has responded (see item 1 below) to the latest attack piece by Reuters (see item 2) over the glyphosate affair.For some background on Reuters’ reporting on the glyphosate-cancer link, see Claire Robinson’s article in The Ecologist from April this year: Industry fingerprints all over Reuters... more

European Union leaders have expressed hope of signing a trade deal with Canada after Belgian politicians overcame differences that had been blocking the treaty.The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, confirmed that leaders of five regional parliaments had reached an agreement with the federal government shortly after midday on Thursday.The Belgian compromise – a four-page text that... more

Food giant Nestlé announced Tuesday that they will grow their non-GMO range of products due to the growing demand from consumers, in a shock to the Biotech Industry in the U.S..Source: www.nestleusa.comNestlé stated Tuesday; “The company is broadening its product offerings to give consumers more options with no GMO ingredients and identifying these products with the SGS-verified... more

Our farmer-managed seed systems in Africa are being criminalized and displaced by a very aggressive green revolution project of corporate occupation by big multinational companies. This violent agrarian transformation is facing profound objection. African farmer organizations are outraged because decisions have been made and imposed on us in a very patronizing, patriarchal way, as if... more

A U.S. farm worker and a horticultural assistant have filed lawsuits claiming Monsanto Co.'s Roundup herbicide caused their cancers and Monsanto intentionally misled the public and regulators about the dangers of the herbicide.The lawsuits come six months after the World Health Organization's cancer research unit said it was classifying glyphosate, the active weed-killing ingredient in... more

(NaturalNews) The financial outlook for Whole Foods Market continues to look grim, as consumers seeking natural and organic products continue to take their business elsewhere.As far back as 2014, then-CEO John Mackey admitted that the company was hurting due to an explosion in the number of stores selling organic groceries."The growing demand for fresh, healthy foods, the... more

A joint program of the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG) and the Economy and Industry Ministry (MEIC) seeks to promote the production and marketing of pesticide-free rice in the country.Officials from both ministries recently presented the results of a four-year project developed in Cañas, in the province of Guanacaste, which resulted in a new product they call EcoArroz (Eco... more